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Watch Out! – Rhode Island Motorist Tax

Fox News.com is reporting a story which explains why Rhode Island is a failing state operated by a handcuffed Republican governor that must answer to a General Assembly filled with 93 Democrats out of 113 total members (82%), (which is a little less than the percentage of MA’s supermajority, 87.5%)

Anyways, the story discusses Rhode Island coming up with new ideas to tax the heck raise money to fund infrastructure repairs. Ideas include:

Taxing state residents a half-cent for every mile they drive, which could raise $50 million annually. The rate could vary based on vehicle weight.
— Imposing a $3 toll for cars and a $6 toll for trucks on Interstate 95 near the Connecticut border. The effort would start in 2014 and would raise an estimated $39 million annually. Additional tolls could be placed near the border with Massachusetts on Interstate 195 and near the northern ends of Interstates 95 and 295.
— Charging tolls on all three bridges linking Aquidneck Island, which includes Newport, to the mainland.
— At least doubling the $60 registration fee for passenger cars.
— Raising the state gasoline tax by 5 to 15 cents.

I believe the last thing Rhode Island needs to do is raise taxes or fees especially in the current economic environment, and the fact that RI has the highest employment rate in the country should serve notice that if Providence wants to maintain jobs and still receive tax revenue, its as simple as making RI a little more attractive to businesses because as the Tax Foundation points out; they are the worst state in the country for biz. tax climate and the 7th highest corp. tax. Instead, the boneheads over at Federal Hill are “taking nothing off the table.”

Then leave it to the RI transportation bureaucracy to spin this into a environmental issue, because it’s not the citizens that matter;

Director of the Dept. of Transportation said besides raising money for road repairs, the miliage tax would discourage motorists from making unnecessary trips and reduce the harmful tailpipe emissions responsible for smog and global warming.

If RI wants to fix roads, why not enact a capital bond bill that will spur investment into the state and will not rely on raising taxes in the short term. Many of the citizens and businesses are already struggling with the taxes and fees placed on them, why not help them out this holiday season?